The Drake Formula An Equation for Tomorrow By Alyssa Young Bent over a lab table in Olin Hall, Hannah Moses attaches plastic t-shaped tubes full of miniscule fruit flies to an even larger tangle of tubes. With dials set and switches flipped, air and vaporized ethanol begin to fill the fruit flies’ chamber, and Moses observes how the insects behave “under the influence.” She hopes the assay she is creating with these teeny test subjects will someday lead to improved treatment options for individuals suffering from alcohol dependence. “Creating a model of behavior in these fruit flies is very interesting to me because it can be used by others in their research dealing with alcohol preference in fruit flies,” says Moses, a senior psychology major and neuroscience minor. “Nobody has set up a behavior model like this with these insects before.” Similar scenes of groundbreaking opportunity are commonplace at Drake, where initiatives such as the Bucksbaum Lecture Series and Drake University Science Collaborative Institute (DUSCI) bring such prestigious scientists and science journalists as Neil deGrasse Tyson, James Balog, and Ira Flatow to campus. They’re also a welcome sight in a state that needs workers skilled in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, collectively referred to as STEM. According to Iowa Workforce Development, STEM-related job growth is expected to exceed that of any other employment sector in Iowa through 2018. However, only 12 percent of Iowa undergraduates currently enroll in STEM majors, compared to 15 percent nationally. The academic tide is beginning to turn at Drake: Students in STEM-related majors jumped by more than 13 percent between 2008 and 2012. Moreover, the number of students indicating an interest in math, science, and technology on their applications to Drake has grown by almost 30 percent since 2009. Rising interest is likely connected to an intensified nationwide focus on k-12 STEM education, but the University’s shifting enrollment could also reflect the draw of the hallmarks of a Drake education.
fall 2013
DRAKE
BLUE
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